LA - California Science Center

California Science Center

--Aaron

Endeavour

Endeavour Simulator

            I loved the California Science Center. The space shuttle Endeavour, built to replace Challenger, was located there. Endeavour flew 25 missions, one to clear the Hubble Telescope’s cloudy vision. All Endeavour missions were successful. We also rode on an Endeavour mission simulator. Space stuff was found all around the museum.

3 ginormous boosters and 2 smaller ones

spacehab, payload

            The Endeavour was huge. It was white and black. Astronauts lived in the front third of the shuttle. But the closest sixth was the Spacehab. It offered more living space and contained experiments to do in space. I was surprised to see that Endeavour had 3 ginormous boosters and 2 smaller ones at the back.

            A timeline of all STSs was on some walls. The last one was STS-135. It showed that Challenger and Columbia were destroyed. It sort of seems like ‘c’ is unlucky because the two and only ones that started with it were destroyed.

            A 3-D movie called Galapagos Islands was very awesome. It talked a lot about the Galapagos Islands. They are volcanic islands directly on the equator 600 miles away from the coast of South America. Many species of animal that live there live nowhere else in the world!

            The exhibit Ecosystems is found around the Endeavour. The Rot Room showed some of nature’s decomposers. The Deep Sea room talked about high pressure while the desert talked about surviving in the heat. Another one, the Polar Zones, have real ice that you could touch! The Rocky Shores room talked about life in the sea. 

            I learned some new things that day in the museum, like spiders in the Galapagos Islands don’t have eyes if they live in tunnels! I want to learn more things by going there again and again. It’s the best place ever! 

Viking lander on Mars

space suit

California Science Center

--Gorden

Endeavour Exhibition

In Los Angeles, we went to see Endeavour.

There are 5 space shuttles, 2 explored, 3 survived. Endeavour is the latest one. Endeavour went on 25 missions. California Science center is its permanent home after it retired a few year ago.

space toilet

The space shuttle is mostly white, but black on the bottom. It is enormous. We saw a lot of equipment, like space toilet, odd food station where they heat up the food. I went on Endeavour simulator. There is a screen at the front that gives you a lot of information. It rocks and shakes to simulate blasting off to space then safely back to earth.

California Science Center is the best place ever. I wish we can go there again to learn more!

kelp forest

LV - Las Vegas

Las Vegas

--Aaron

New York-New York hotel

M&M theater, I lost my M in Vegas

    I love going to Las Vegas. It is a city right in the middle of a desert. LV has the world's highest ferris wheel called the High Roller. Many hotels are located there, such as the Venetian, Caesar's Palace, and has an M&M factory. The Hard Rock hotel is a nice place to live in. 

warm fire near the flamingo pond

flamingo habitat

       The first hotel we went to was the Flamingo. We called it Pinkland. 80% of the things in there were pink. There were pink curtains, words, light, shampoo, and even pink in pictures! A warm fire was located near the flamingo pond. 

cowboy

Slotzilla

    We also went to the Fremont Street Encounter. There were cowboys, a cow girl, and even a cow goose laying golden eggs. A ride called the Slotzilla was also located at the Fremont street Encounter. People were watching a man do live paint spraying. 

life paint spraying

life paint spraying

    Palazzo, a 5 star hotel, has a ton of shops and a marble (I think) sculpture. In addition, there is a plaque tells the Hanukkah legend. 

Palazzo hotel marble sculpture

Bellagio music fountain

    Bellagio has a music fountain that plays every 15 minutes on the outside, but inside is even more beautiful. They have giant Christmas trees and ornaments. Some trains can even found. You might even see one of their artificial penguins move. 

artificial penguins at Bellagio

ornament inside Bellagio

Luxor

MGM

    We visited other hotels, too. They include the Mirage, MGM Grand, Excalibur, New York-New York, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay. Las Vegas is beautiful, especially at night. I wish that it could beak more world records. 

Las Vegas

--Gordon

Today, we got to a cold desert city called Las Vegas.

Our hotel is Flamingo. We tried to see the flamingos but they were not there. It was too cold.

The next day, we lived at Hard Rock hotel. There was a restaurant called Mr. Luckeys. It was so delicious that I got over full.

Holiday in Bellagio

Holiday in Bellagio

We went to a lot of shows and went into hotels. They were all beautiful. At Gold Nugget, there is a nugget that was weighted by tons. The Mirage had a volcano show every half an hour. The volcano was enormous and erupted like crazy. For some relaxation, we watched the music fountain. It could shoot water higher than hotels! We even saw a show that somebody escaped out of chains that were locked at downtown Fremont Street.

I had a good time at Las Vegas. I wish we could go there again. 

Mirage volcano eruption

Mexico Baja - Cruise Trip to Mexico Baja California

Cruise Trip to Mexico Baja California

--Gordon

cruise Imagination

    For Thanksgiving break, we went to Mexico. We got there by a ship called Imagination. 

water slide

mini golf

    There were a lot of fun things. The water slide is the best part of the cruise. I rode down and water rushed me along the tube. The tube is really dark, colorful, and twisty. I could relax because the water is warm. Mini golf is fun too. Camp Carnival is really exciting. 

buffet

    The yummiest part is the buffet. You can have everything you want. They even give you four pieces of chocolate every night.  

enormous blowhole

    At Mexico, we saw a enormous blowhole. It could shoot water up to the top of the mountain beside it. 

    It was sad that we had to leave. I wish my entire family can go again and again!

My First Cruise

--Aaron

just on board of Imagination

            My first cruise trip was to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. We went there right after I finished reading a book about the Titanic. It made me scared about going aboard. I hoped for the best which is what happened! Well, maybe not, but at least the ship didn't sink.

            When I took my first look at the ship, I thought it was big and hard to sink (that gave me some relief). The buffet was delicious with pizza, cupcakes, and even ice cream! A look at the water park was enough for me to want to ride the slides. The pool was not very appealing but the Jacuzzi was. An Olympic running track went around a mini golf course. I even completed a part that was supposed to be completed in 3 hits in 2 instead.

flee market in Ensenada, Baja

Ensenada, Baja California 

 You should go to the flea market in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. There are clothes, food, restaurants, name bracelets, drinks, and a natural geyser near it. You can tell when the geyser is about to blow when the sea level around it drops. I think that the sea level drops when the geyser sucks in water, then, when it rises, it does so because the geyser lets go of some water, which gives it less weight to blow. With less weight to blow, the geyser can spray.

coconut drink

When we got back on the ship, one of the first things we did was to go on the water slides. I loved all of them (I never rode the smallest one), especially the Twister, the largest one, even though there was always a line. The second highest one was the Twin Racers, at least, that’s what I call it.

We spent our last day on the ship at sea. That was the day we went to Camp Carnival. The first game we played was a guessing game. The next one was a computer game called Sonic Unleashed. We had to leave for some lunch but we came back for the big dance party. An event was held after the party. It was about decorating a t-shirt. When we were all done, we started watching the movie "The Croods". My parents pulled us out for dinner in the middle.

I love my first experience on a ship. It wasn't so bad after all. Just 1 problem, I couldn't find a lot of food that I liked. If that problem is fixed, I’d want to live there forever!

Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

LA - Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain

--Aaron

nutcracker

about to ride Ninja

decorated  park for Christmas Eve

            We went to Six Flags Magic Mountain 3 times. I enjoyed the Ninja, Tweety’s Escape, Roadrunner Express, Scrambler, Sand Blasters, and Holiday in the Park.

            Gold Rusher, my most favorite ride, is a long roller coaster. I think that it got its name from the gold colored track. It has a ton of twists and turns, but don’t worry, it doesn’t go upside down.

Flash Speed Force

            The Flash Speed Force ride is my second favorite ride. It is a speedy ride that goes in a circle. It goes up and down, up and down. My brother also likes it. He says that his stomach can’t handle the speed so that’s why he likes it.

riding Jet Stream

            My third favorite ride is the splashy Jet Stream. It’s just like a roller coaster, except with water. Two steep falls are included in the ride, one small, and one big. The small one goes first, the 57-foot drop goes next. I always lose my stomach and feel like I’m going to be thrown right out of the boat on the second fall.

            I have a hobby of listening to the screams of the people who ride the extremely high rides. They sound loud and I always know exactly when they scream. Do you know why I have this hobby? So that I can see how well my timing is.

            We also rode on some other rides. They were the Grand Carousel, Canyon Blast, Sylvester’s Bounce and Pounce, and Edward Fudd’s Weather Balloons. It’s the best place ever! I wish that we could go there every day. It is 5^th place in the park with the most rides.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

--Gordon

enjoy the ride

    We went to Six Flags Magic Mountain. The ride I enjoyed the most was the Ninja. It goes tilting and even sideways. Ninja is very crazy. My family loves the Gold Rusher. My brother’s the one who likes it the most. We all said that it was one word: boring. The 3rd best ride is Sand Blasters, which are bumper cars. Our family bumped the hardest. Mom’s arms hurt after bumping.             

                  

  My brother and I loved to hear the screams of people riding high-speed roller coasters, especially Superman: Escape from Krypton. It is the 3^rd highest and 5^th fastest roller coaster in the world.                                                                                                                                                                                    

having fun at Looney Tunes 

contains a lot of Santa's toys

    The beautiful part about Six Flags is Winter Wonderland. It is full of decorations, even fake snow. There are a ton of shows. The shows are the best ones anyone could ever imagine.

                                                                                                           

    Six Flags is the best place in the world. I wish we could go there again and again!                                                                                                                                            

 

2014 Christmas Eve